movies

Things I Love 4: The Slow and The Lackadaisical

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island hammock

In case you didn’t get the title, it’s the opposite of those never-ending series of movies called The Fast and the Furious. I think we’re probably looking at at least 18 more of those, so gird your loins.

But I digress. Back to the list of things I love, starting at #81.

81) Spontaneously starting up conversations with strangers with small dogs at Starbucks. The best part is that we’re not strangers anymore, but friends.

82) Finding out I wasn’t the only one who struggled with that or felt that way.

83) Finally getting around to seeing a movie I missed years ago and finding out it was worth waiting to see.

84) Listening to Morgan Freeman’s voice (if he ever narrated a book on CD, I’d buy it, even if it was Intro to Trigonometry.

85) Finding out that U2 finally has a NEW album coming out later this year.

86) The elegance and beauty of Grace Kelly.

87) That the end of the Greatest Story Ever Told has already written and it’s has the best ending ever.

88) Or if you prefer, all of history is like the title page and table of contents, and after it ends is the real beginning of the Real Story in which every next chapter is better than the last and where you don’t want to ever put the book down.

89) The peace that comes with acceptance that a friendship is over and that it has served its purpose and best of all, being thankful for the time we had.

90) Every time I see the transformative power of the risen Christ in my life.

91) Believing in love again and especially believing that there really maybe someone out there who will want and desire me.

92) Being in a place at night where you can see the stars.

93) The smell of chlorine. I know it’s weird, but it takes me back to going to the Y as a kid.

94) The smell of bus exhaust. Again, it’s strange, but this time it takes me back to the days of marching band trips.

95) Watching fireflies and listening to a symphony of crickets on a slow country night.

96) Seeing a mother who isn’t preoccupied or busy or glued to her smart phone and is loving on her child and living in the moment.

97) Those little candies called Smarties.

98) That I really can taste the rainbow when I eat a Skittles.

99) Listening to my cat snore.

100) The good feeling I get after eating a really good Southern home-cooked meal.

101) That there will be more of these blogs because there are so many more little things that I love.

Jay Gatsby and the Great Hope

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image

Right now, I am overwhelmed by the scent in the spring breeze. It’s at once both sweet and sad, like the memories of a past that won’t ever return. It’s also hopeful, like  the promise of better days to come. I’m feeling both right now.

I’m letting go of a friendship because it’s not working. She doesn’t want to be friends, or at least doesn’t appear to want to, so I am bowing out gracefully. I will still pray for her and wish her the best and be pleasant, but it’s time to step aside. I will be one less guy friend in her life. But I’m still thankful for the time we were friends. And hopeful for the future.

There’s a quote in the movie The Great Gatsby that I love. The narrator, Nick Carraway, describes Jay Gatsby as the most hopeful man he’s ever known. He goes on to say that he will likely never meet someone again with that rare gift of hope.

That’s what I want said about me. That I never gave up hope in anyone, but kept on believing the best in everyone. Because that’s what God did for me. He’s never given up hope in me that I will become what he made me to be. He’s never given up working on me, slowly and steadily.

So I’m still hopeful. My hope isn’t in a predetermined future but in the God who’s already there. To him, tomorrow is now. He’ll still be there when I get there. So I can let today be enough and not let tomorrow’s concerns worry my mind.

I wish I could bottle the scent of the night air. But that would spoil it. Part of the joy is the surprise. I’m sure someone somewhere could figure out a way to make a perfume or a air freshener that reminded me of tonight, but it wouldn’t be the same.

So I’m reminding you to keep hoping in the goodness of God. Just as surely as day follows night, so you will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.

My First Letter to My Future Wife in a While

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“You are the butter to my bread, you are the breath to my life” (from the movie Julie & Julia).

I blogged a few days ago about a magical movie moment at Best Buy. I’m beginning to realize that that girl is probably not you. In fact, I sincerely doubt I’ll ever see her again.

But one thing she did that I’m forever grateful for is to help me believe in myself again. Specifically, she helped me to believe that I could be desirable and attractive to the opposite sex. Not in a logical in-my-head kind of way, but in a very real, in-real-life kind of way.

I had even begun to doubt you would ever come my way, but now I believe in that again. I believe that even if it takes a miracle for us to meet, God has plenty of experience and practice and miracles and it’s really true that what seems impossible to us isn’t even remotely difficult for him,

There are still some fuzzy parts. I don’t know who you are or what you look like. I don’t know when or how we’ll meet. I don’t know where I’ll be. But I do know that wherever you are will be my home.

I know that there will be times when we won’t be “in love,” but we will still love each other, because love isn’t a feeling as much as it is a choice, an action, an active verb. Love even means loving when you don’t feel like it. Going through the motions of love sometimes until the feelings of love return.

I do hope there are moonlit walks on the beach and candlelit dinners. I hope for fireworks and also for quiet moments. I can’t wait to feel you lying next to me, sleeping while I’m still not able to fall asleep over the wonder that you belong to me and I belong to you and that we both belong to Jesus.

Some days, you are harder to see than others, but my hope isn’t in you. It’s in God. Period. I hope you will love me, but I hope you will love Jesus more. I hope to love you, but not half as much as I hope to love Jesus. And I know neither of our loves will even begin to touch the love of the Father for each of us.

That’s what I’m hoping for.

 

Magical Movie Moments

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I had one of those magical movie moments tonight. Yeah, it’s exactly like it sounds. It’s one of those moments that you tell yourself can’t be happening, one that only happens in those cheesy Nicholas Sparks movies that no one admits to liking yet pretty much everyone does. One of those moments.

A very pretty girl came up to me and started talking to me at Best Buy, asking me all sorts of questions about music and movies. We ended up chatting for over an hour, past when the store was supposed to close. I completely lost track of time. Even though I had never seen her before, we talked like old friends. The conversation wasn’t forced. It was natural. I think I found my musical and cinematic soul mate (in that we share pretty much the same tastes in music and movies).

Looking back, the scene was like the opening sequence from the movie Serendipity. Minus the soundtrack and Kate Beckinsale.

Oh, in case you’re reading this, I didn’t get your cell number. I was too stunned to ask. So you can text it to me at (615) 556-5850.

Even if I never see or hear from her again, I still think this ranks as a top 10 night of my life. Just to know that someone like that wanted to talk to me makes me feel good. Like maybe I could be romantically desirable to a girl and that maybe God does have someone out there for me.

I never cease to be amazed at what God does anymore. I just know that whatever it is, it’s always better than anything I could have scripted on my own or dreamed up in my best dreams.

And why should I be surprised? God is the Ultimate Romantic at Heart. He invented romance and marriage and true love. He’s the one who yearns to captivate our hearts and bring out the best on all of us. He’s the one who never stops pursuing our hearts, no matter how we spurn him or run away.

So, all in all, not bad for a Thursday night, eh?

Fear and Faith

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I’m not alone when I say that I have known fear and anxiety. Lately, I’ve heard several of my friends talk about their own fears and worries. I’m pretty sure that everybody deals with fear on some level.

But the question of the day is this: will you let fear run your life or will you step out in faith? Will you put your foot out into the air, not knowing if there will be ground underneath for it to land on? I know your mind just went to that scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Mine did. That’s exactly what the step of faith looks like. It means either God comes through or you will crash and burn.

I think for a lot of people, their fear of failure is stronger than their desire for success. They want to avoid failing more than they want to succeed, and the result is that they will fail from not trying. Failing is not failure, but not trying is.

I truly believe that God reveals himself as we obey. As we can take those steps of faith, God knows we are ready to handle a much greater revelation of himself. We know much more of God’s ability to come though in the clutch when we go out on a limb for him.

So my advice is to do what you’re afraid of. Ask her out. Apply for that job. Make that call to your estranged friend. Share your faith with a co-worker. Quit that dead-end job and pursue your dream.

God will honor you. He hasn’t failed you yet and he’s not about to. Remember, as I heard recently, that if God is calling you out, he has already given you the victory there. You only have to step out and claim it.

Perfect, complete, mature love, i.e. the love of God, casts out fear completely.

What a Night

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I met with some friends to see The Great Gatsby in 3D at the Cinema at Green Hills. Well, first let me backtrack a bit.

I started off arriving at The Mall at Green Hills. Not the Green Hills Mall, mind you. It’s the Mall at Green Hills. And when you say it, you have to hold your pinky a certain way.

I had dinner at Jonathan’s Grille. It was one of the best taco salads I have ever eaten in my life. I’m not kidding. I’m pretty sure I’m not exaggerating, either. It was pretty darn good. I think all other taco salads in the future will have to live up to this new standard of spicy awesomeness.

Then I went to the Starbucks where my friend used to be a manager and where I had a memorable evening hanging out with another friend (she probably doesn’t know this, but that was one of my best days ever). Needless to say, I have a lot of good memories there.

Then I strolled around the mall itself for a bit. I bought a much-needed car charger for my iPhone at the Apple Store. Thus, flush with the heady sense of accomplishment, I headed off to the cinema.

I met with one of my friends and we devised a strategy of saving seats for the others. Really, the strategy was that she sat at one end of the row and I sat at the other. Not too taxing for a Friday night.

The movie itself was a grand spectacle, as is the case with most Baz Luhrmann movies. It was very visually appealing with well-chosen music to heighten the drama and the intensity of the story. I do have to admit that I still prefer the older 1974 adaptation with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, but the new version is amazing nonetheless.

At the end, I got separated from the group and got turned around and ended up exiting through the entrance doors. In other words, typical me. I sat in a chair in front of Starbucks for a little bit, then went home.

I have to give kudos to my amazing Green Hills Community Group for being a great group of friends, each of whom I hold dearly in my heart and admire greatly. Thanks for another great Friday night!

My 1000th Blog!!!

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It’s true. I’ve written 1,000 blogs since I started this 2 1/2 years ago (it will be 3 years in July). I never thought I’d be mega-popular or successful, although I occasionally had moments of delusions where I was hoping to see massive readership. But that’s just not my style.

It’s mostly a way for me to get my feelings and thoughts out there. It’s been very therapeutic for me and, hopefully, for you as well. I stand by my statement that if I were the only one who read my own blogs, I’d still write them. It would still be worth it.

Who knows? One day I might get Jon Acuff-like numbers. I doubt it, but in this crazy world, just about anything’s possible.

My process is still usually to take a topic or a phrase that grabs my attention and run with it. I could hear a song or a speech or watch a movie and be inspired that way. Sometimes I sit down at my laptop and have no idea what’s going to come out.

I still do very little revisions or rewrites. It’s still basically a one-take deal. That might not work for everybody and it’s probably not the way professionals do it, but it’s what I’m comfortable with and it works for me.

I’m still so grateful for anyone who reads these things. I’ve been astounded and amazed by the people who tell me that what I write means so much to them. I usually have no idea. But I’m so blessed to have so many who faithfully keep up with me.

I hope you will continue to read these and pass them along to others you think might benefit from them. I will continue to write them as long as God allows. It’s not about numbers, it’s about putting what’s on my heart on these blogs. That’s all.

Here’s hoping there’s 1,000 more.

 

The Art of the Mix Tape

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 5 Comments

mixtape

The art of creating a perfect mix tape is becoming more and more of a lost art. With the advent of iPods and digital music downloads, it’s easy to rip all of your music on to one device and set it on random.

But to sit down and agonizingly pick the right songs and put them in the right order to create a mood is not as easy as it sounds. Whether it’s for a road trip or for a special someone or for falling asleep or just for sitting alone in the dark, there’s a science and an art to creating a mix tape (or CD, if you will).

You can mess up a mix cassette tape and record over it (but after a few times, you lose the audio quality). With burning a CD, you have to get it right the first time.

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Anyone can put together a collection of all the top songs of any given time period. But to select songs that define a part of your life is a completely different matter. They have to be songs that evoke tangible feelings and memories that take you back to a specific time and place and conjur up details of where you were and what you were doing when you first heard that song.

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About 10 years ago, I created my own collection of mix CDs based off a radio station I was listening to at the time. It was one of the first independent/alternative-to-the-normal-top-40 stations I had ever heard and I was instantly smitten. I got introduced to groups like The BoDeans, Susan Tedeschi, Iris DeMent, Cowboy Junkies, Wilco, and many more artists that I had never heard of before. My musical trajectory was forever altered during that year.

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I can still listen to those CDs and remember what I felt when I first heard those songs, my hopes and dreams and aspirations. I wouldn’t call them perfect by any means, but they serve to encapsulate a time in my life.

If you need guidance on how to put together a mix tape, I suggest watching the movie High Fidelity. Also, movies like Juno, Elizabethtown, and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist have soundtracks that might suggest ideas for what songs to put in a mix tape.

Just have fun with it and try not to over-analyze it too much. Go with what feels right. Also, let me know what songs you put into your mix tapes and CDs. Who knows? I might be inclined to make one for myself.

And the Award for Best Blog Ever Goes To . . . .

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

oscar

I watched the 85th Academy Awards presentation tonight. I don’t know if this will cement my status in the ultimate goober category, but I printed out a list of the nominees and made my predictions in all 24 categories. I am somewhat proud to announce that I got 10 right, and about half of those were lucky guesses.

I fared better with the categories I actually knew something about, getting 4 of the 5 major categories and only missing the Best Actor in a Supporting Role, which I’m okay with since I haven’t seen any of the movies represented in that category.

My goal for the rest of 2013 is to watch every one of the movies nominated for Best Picture (the total so far is 1 down, 8 to go), and maybe one or two of the documentaries nominated. Possibly if I’m feeling brave enough I might even watch one or two of the films nominated for Best Foreign Film. But no promises on that.

Obviously, I am not an actor, producer, or directer. I have very little knowledge of the technical side of film-making. I just know what I like and usually what I gravitate toward are movies about people I can relate to, as long as they’re not incredibly depressing. I don’t mind sad movies, as long as they’re not morbidly sad with no redeeming qualities.

I saw most of the awards ceremony at a friend’s house with some of the people from my Sunday School class. It was a fun, low-key night that made the ceremony better, even if I did strike out on most of the categories.

Hopefully, next year I will have seen more of the nominated movies and can have more to base my decisions on than eeney-meeney-miney-moe or blind guesses. Maybe I’ll go back and watch some of the older Oscar-winning movies that I’ve missed.

 

 

 

To All the Wallflowers in the World

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perks

I finally broke down and rented The Perks of Being a Wallflower from Redbox. In case you were wondering, that was the infamous movie that I had a ticket for the night I got hit by that car in downtown Franklin. Yeah, that was the movie I missed. Well, I finally saw it, almost two months later.

One line really struck me. “We accept the love we think we deserve.”

I had always wondered why I saw nice, pretty girls who always seemed to date guys who struck me as obnoxious, loud jerks. I wondered why they did that when there were nice guys (like me) available.

You could argue that most of the nice guys (again like me) never got up the nerve to ask out the nice, pretty girls. But I do think that people who don’t think much of themselves will settle for relationships that aren’t the best for them.

In case you’re wondering if this is going to be yet another blog on dating, it’s not.

I wonder how many of us really know our own worth. We tend to repeatedly replay every minor criticism and downplay every compliment out of a false modesty that really isn’t modest at all. If you and I are honest, we don’t think much of ourselves most of the time and we project that on to how we perceive others to not like us or acknowledge us.

Maybe you think nobody ever sees you or feels your pain or even cares that you’re hurting. Maybe you wonder why you bother getting up in the morning only to spend the entire day being overlooked and ignored by everyone around you.

Let me remind you that God thought you worth loving. Well, let me rephrase that. God chose to love you because he wanted to and in loving you, he made you lovable and worth loving. Maybe that only makes sense if you’re tired and still awake after midnight, but there it is.

God formed you with his own hands, breathed his own breath into you, and called you very good. You are made in the image of God and there is no one else exactly like you. You are God’s poem, his masterpiece, his workmanship.

So whenever you are tempted in any way to settle for less than God’s very best, remember that you are worth loving because God said so. And anybody who says or acts otherwise doesn’t deserve you.